


Of Siren Song and Voyage Long

by QuintusHazard



Category: Hiveswap, Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ashen Romance | Auspistice, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, F/F, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Pirates, Quadrant Confusion, Quadrant Vacillation, bloodswap, cerulean!Chixie, violet!Boldir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-13 14:00:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16893957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuintusHazard/pseuds/QuintusHazard
Summary: Violetblood Boldir Lamati finds a stowaway on her ship and begrudgingly recruits her - and it turns out that this stranger will bring a lot more excitement and adventure into her life.





	1. Of Stowaway and Disobey

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, these are bloodswaps! Cerulean Chixie was designed by me, and the violet Boldir appearance design I'm using belongs to [AskBoldir](https://askboldir.tumblr.com/)/[FourLeggedSandwich](https://fourleggedsandwich.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr, thanks so much to them for letting me use their Boldir for this!

Boldir Lamati had always considered herself to be quite a tolerable person, even for a violetblood. Seadwellers had been regarded for milennia by the public as being casteist, exploitative and snobbish. It wasn't something Boldir would deny, since she herself ran quite a tight ship with crew members lower on the spectrum than herself; then again, a few teals and ceruleans was vastly preferable to brutish indigos or dim-witted clowns.

What Boldir didn't tolerate, however, was stowaways on her ship. This was why she currently had the collar of a cerulean's coat in her claws, marching briskly up the steps to the deck of her ship - the Poison Dart - as the uninvited passenger swore and kicked, trying to swipe at her with a hook hand.

As soon as the sea breeze hit her as she kicked the door open, Boldir couldn't help but take in the scent of the sea for a moment. It was somehow pungent, intoxicating, inviting. She mused to herself how glad she was to be out here on the open ocean and not stuck inside a stuffy Orphaner college with the rest of her caste.

Thoughts aside, Boldir swung her arm and threw the intruder onto the hard floor of the deck. The stranger growled, baring her fangs as she glared up at Boldir. To be specific, she had one true upper fang, the other being of gold, with the very faintest scar leading up a few millimeters from her lip. The hook glistened in the light of the moon. Boldir knew that there must be stories behind these scars and prosthetics, stories that she may hear one day if the stowaway played her cards right.

Boldir, stoically crossing her arms behind her back, raised her eyebrow as she stared down at the other troll. After a few seconds, the troll rose - she was a few inches taller than Boldir, her chin-length hair swept back, her horns curled down. Her expression suggested a deep-seated ferocity that only seldom surfaced; like a great whale arching above the glimmering, moonlit surface of the stillest waters.

"Care to explain yourself?" Boldir said after a few seconds of silence between them. Her voice wasn't the loudest, but it was loud enough to be heard, and firm enough to strike a feeling of discomfort in most trolls that she spoke to.

However, this did not seem to have an effect on the cerulean, who snorted and furrowed her brow.

"What do you think I was doing? I was hitching a ride, plain and simple." she spoke raspily, with the slight accent of the pirates a young wiggler might find in storybooks. The retort amused Boldir, who turned her head slightly, her eyes still fixed on the cerulean.

"What's your name? I want to know what to write in my diary after I throw you overboard." Boldir tapped her foot impatiently on the deck, folding her arms in front of her this time.

"Don't!" the cerulean blurted out quickly, raising her hook a little, her body tensing, before she took a deep breath and lowered it. "Don't. I can be a valuable member of your crew if you'll just overlook this one thing. I haven't been in a real crew for sweeps."

Boldir considered the stranger, her brows furrowing. The hasty answer had put her on edge, and her lips were drawn tight as she looked over the troll. She seemed quite capable of holding her own, the only imperfection being her hook - however, Boldir had seen hard labour being done by trolls with hooks for both hands, so it didn't sway her decision.

"Fine. But I've got my eye on you. You'll answer to my orders, since I am your captain. I am Boldir Lamati, but you can just call me Captain Lamati." 

The cerulean grinned and snickered with a small roll of her eyes. 

"Whatever you say, Boldy. The name's Chixie Roixmr, but you can just call me babe." Before Boldir could reprimand Chixie for such blatant disrespect, the cerulean had taken hold of Boldir's hand with her own good hand, shaking it firmly. 

A moment's glance between them made a split-second shock of pitch run through her. She growled just a little and removed her hand from Chixie's tight grip.

"Watch yourself. Just for that, you'll be swabbing the decks. Now get to work." Boldir turned and made her way back to the door which led underneath the deck, stopping just before the door and turning to look at Chixie, who had picked up a broom. 

The cerulean gave the violet a wink and a cheeky grin which made a faint violet blush rise to Boldir's cheeks. Boldir felt in the pit of her stomach that Chixie would not be easy to keep in line. Even deeper, she was delighted by this new, unfamiliar challenge. 

The Captain disappeared beneath the deck, those thoughts swirling in her mind and distracting her as she nibbled at her bottom lip with her three front teeth.


	2. Of Ocean and Devotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chixie gets to work on the ship, and meets the rest of the crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy here's some more of this stuff! I love BolChix tbh no matter their blood colour and it's VERY refreshing to write some pitch stuff for them as a change, although there'll be more than just pitch in the future ;)

If she had to be honest with herself, hard work wasn't something that Chixie was used to, but sure enough, her new captain had put her to work. Scrubbing the decks was a rotten job - the rest of the crew had obviously not taken care to not track mud onto the ship, and the stains were stubborn.

Chixie was a captain, not a labourer, and she groaned and rested against the mast, her mind wandering to her past crew and deciding to cut off her memories with a sneer. She didn't have time to think about them now, not when there was work to be done. She hadn't been able to flirt her way out of this one, so she supposed that a bit of honest work would do her good.

She straightened with a start as she heard the door to below deck swing open, and a few pairs of footsteps. Ah, this must be the rest of the crew, although the captain herself wasn't among them. A bit of a shame, Chixie thought, as she wanted to show off to the others how easily she could fluster Boldir.

Turning to face the crew, who stared at her curiously, she took each one's appearance in.

The first fellow to catch her eye was a cerulean like herself - a broad-shouldered troll with the sides of his head shaved and a short mop of hair on top. A Scorza, she noticed, by the signs on his gloves. Vikare Ratite had been in Boldir's crew the longest, and although he secretly hoped to be Boldir's second-in-command, the violet hadn't expressed any desire for shared authority.

The second was a tealblood - a surly-looking Libittarius with horns that curled back sharply. Despite being teal, she looked like she had a bit of muscle to her, certainly enough to grab the chain of the anchor and yank it up without much trouble. With a pull to the sails, the great sheets filled with wind and the ship began to move. This was a daily task for Marsti Houtek, one she'd worked down to an art form.

The third and final crew member flashed Chixie a smile and a "nice night, huh?" as he passed her to throw the fishing net over the side of the ship. The Librius was the ship's cook, and he wanted a fresh catch to prepare for that dawn's meal. Diemen Xicali knew how to make something palatable from whatever was on hand, although nobody knew quite how.

Chixie waited for a few more minutes but the captain still hadn't emerged, so she huffed and made her way to Vikare, who stood at the wheel, looking quite at home in control of such a vast vessel.

"So, the captain, huh?" she leaned on her heels as she studied the larger cerulean. "What a chick."

"Oh, absolutely! You must be the new crew member, huh? Roixmr, or something. She said something about you to us as she was coming down." Vikare grinned. "If there's anything you need to know about the captain, I'm the chap to tell you. I've known her since we were only five sweeps old, and she hasn't changed much."

Chixie took a moment then to breathe in the ocean air, closing her eyes and feeling the breeze flow through her hair. Yes, this was the place for her. Riding the ocean waves, safely out of the water itself. A shiver of excitement coursed through her as she grinned.

"Interesting," she hummed. "she doesn't seem like someone who's easily won over, huh?"

"You're right about that. She's had countless trolls trying to weasel their way out of some punishment or other, but she's a formidable troll." He paused to think. "Formidable... but fair."

Now it was a personal challenge to Chixie - to get past the hard exterior of the captain and expose her true self beneath. She patted her castemate on the arm and grinned.

"Good talk, big guy. That's all I need to know for now." She peered over the edge of the platform to see Boldir emerge from the door, carrying a small crate and making her way up the steps. 

Vikare and Boldir understood each other perfectly well - no words needed to be exchanged as Vikare left the wheel to let the captain take her rightful place in control of her ship.

Boldir placed the crate down and stepped onto it - even in her heeled boots, she was still too short to see over the top of the wheel without assistance, something Chixie found extremely amusing.

"Are you still here?" Boldir seemed to notice Chixie for the first time after a few moments, and the cerulean stepped to the violet's side.

"Absolutely. I said I was here to hitch a ride, didn't I?" Chixie replied almost challengingly. Boldir crinkled her nose a little.

"This isn't a pleasure cruise, you know. We'll surely meet other ships who have a mind to sink us and take everything we have. We'll have to survive storms and furious waves. If you want off, I'm not turning around now." 

"Yeah, whatever." Chixie waved her hand dismissively, staring at the open ocean in front. The sea stretched out as far as the eye could see at all sides - it would be a good few days before they reached land. "You think I don't know that? I used to be a captain too, you know."

That actually brought a short laugh from Boldir.

"Oh yes? Well know one thing - I'm in charge here, and you'll have to get used to it."

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day you'll believe it yourself." Chixie shifted closer and wrapped her hook-handed arm around Boldir, resting the point of the hook lightly against her side.

Boldir tensed as Chixie's boot nudged slightly against the crate she stood on. Vikare looked up from where he sat on the edge of the ship, silently asking if he should intervene. A quick shake of her head assured him that no, she could handle this herself.

"I think we'll get along well. We're both kindred spirits. Trapped in one place and wanting to get out." a smirk crossed Chixie's lips, her gold fang glimmering deviously as her grip around Boldir's waist loosened and she stepped away from the crate.

Boldir let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding in, and turned her head to glare at Chixie out of the corner of her eye.

"We'll get along if you do as you're told, Roixmr."

Chixie only laughed merrily, passing behind Boldir and stopping at the top of the steps down onto the deck.

"I told you, Captain, I'm Chixie."


	3. Of Sticks and Stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as things seem to be getting better for the crew of the Poison Dart, someone shows up to stir up anger and dissonance among the crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help I can't stop writing lmao

It was good to be back on dry land.

Those were Chixie's thoughts as she sat on a crate of supplies on the dock the crew had arrived at, as Boldir looked over some paperwork to make sure the supplies were there.

It wasn't that she didn't like the rocking and swaying of the ship as she lay in her hammock below deck during the day, but there was something familiar and comforting about the land. Perhaps it was the stability of the ground beneath her feet, or the hustle and bustle of the nearby port town. Whatever it was, Chixie grinned and sighed happily as she gazed up at the seagulls flying overhead, keeping their eyes out for scraps of food.

"Feeling a little more agreeable today, Chixie?" Boldir asked casually as she turned a page in the paperwork.

"You're damn right. Look, the ocean life is all fine and dandy, but it pays to take a break, you know?" 

Boldir nodded absently as she ran her finger down the list of supplies. The captain had admittedly been sceptical about Chixie's resolve and her claims of value, but the cerulean had brought a breath of fresh air to the otherwise-lethargic group.

For one thing, she had a beautiful singing voice, and an extensive knowledge of sea shanties. Even Marsti had joined in readily from her usual place in the crow's nest. Boldir herself had kept a close eye from her place at the wheel, not joining in but still feeling glad that morale was high.

Despite the fact that the crew held Chixie in high regard now, there was still something of a rivalry between Boldir and Chixie. She could never get the cerulean to do something unless she was ready to obey, in fact she seemed to regard herself as Boldir's equal rather than her crew. It must be the fact that she used to be a captain herself, Boldir supposed, noting the fact that Chixie would quickly shift the topic away from any discussion of her old crew.

"Hold this for a second." Boldir had been holding a sack of potatoes under her arm as she checked the supply list.

"Oh, sure." Chixie seemed to be in a good mood, and she took the bag with no argument. If there was one thing that she hated, it was being spoken down to and being told to 'obey orders', so a casual request like this appealed to her a lot more.

"Ha, good little cerulean, recognizing your place as being inferior to seadwellers." came a rough voice from down the dock. Chixie and Boldir both raised their heads and Boldir groaned quietly at the familiar face.

Konyyl Okimaw had always been a tactless person, never afraid to say the first thing on her mind. The hulking Aquapia had the teeth of a moray eel and the bite of her words matched the bite of her fangs. Boldir had always felt great disdain for her fellow violet, which showed when her fins drew back and she turned back to her supply sheet.

Chixie, however, was not prepared to take this sitting down, and bore her fangs in a deep snarl, narrowing her eyes as she stood up.

"Don't you dare, Chixie." Boldir didn't look up from her paper, putting her hand on Chixie's arm. Chixie took a deep breath and was ready to sit back down when Konyyl's next words sealed her fate.

"Well, Lamati, it looks like you have a well-trained blueblood pet. I never would have thought it of you."

That was the last straw, and Chixie sliced the rope of the sack with her hook and despite Boldir's orders to stop and calm down, she plunged her good hand into the sack and threw a potato directly at Konyyl's face, laughing triumphantly as it hit the other violet square in the face.

"Chixie, you idiot! Stop it!" Boldir pleaded, tugging at Chixie's sleeve as the cerulean pelted more potatoes at Konyyl, who snarled and raised a muscular arm to protect her face.

"We need to get out of here, right now!" Boldir's voice turned serious and she pulled Chixie towards the ship.

"Oh, calm down, misery guts! She's all talk! What about the supplies anyway?" Chixie growled a little as Boldir tugged her hard enough to make her drop the sack.

"We'll have to leave the supplies if we want to live!" Boldir's eyes widened as Konyyl pulled out what she had dreaded - a harpoon gun. 

Chixie suddenly seemed to understand the severity of the situation and followed Boldir up the gangplank, pulling it onto the ship as Marsti and Vikare lifted the anchor and Diemen took the wheel, swinging the ship around dangerously close to other vessels.

Konyyl was not discouraged, however, and fired her harpoon into the stern of the ship, grabbing onto the rope attached to the harpoon and digging her heels into the dock, tugging on the ship.

Being a violet, Konyyl had amazing strength, and even that brought the ship to a near-stop.

"We're done for!" Diemen cried as he looked back at the projectile in the back of the boat.

"Not if I can help it!" Chixie ran up the steps and leaned over the back of the ship, placing her good hand on the shaft of the harpoon, swinging her hook hand and trying to cut through the rope.

Diemen gasped and grabbed onto the back of Chixie's coat to keep her from falling off the ship as she soon dug her hook into the rope, tugging hard to fray and finally break it, sending the ship forward with a lurch as it was freed from its bounds.

Chixie tugged the harpoon out of the wood of the ship, falling back into the ship and sitting there with the projectile, panting as she studied it in her good hand.

"Great, free weapon!" she grinned as she rose to her feet, looking over the wheel to see Boldir panting, Marsti's hands on her shoulders and Vikare standing worriedly over her. 

"Everything's alright now. We're away from that brute, and it's all plain sailing from here. Get it? Because we're on a ship..." Chixie walked down the steps, her voice trailing off as Boldir raised her head with an expression of pure fury across her features, her lips curled back to reveal her mouth full of sharp teeth - oddly piranha-like, Chixie mused.

"Alright?!" Boldir stood up straight, shaking with rage as her crewmates backed away. "How dare you say that everything's alright when you nearly got us all KILLED, and made us leave all those supplies behind! Those were meant to last us another voyage, but now we'll have to ration what little we still have on the ship."

Chixie looked mildly outraged, gripping the harpoon.

"I have a right to defend myself, you know! And you heard the way she talked about you! You'd have done the same, right?" 

"You stupid troll.." Boldir tried taking a few deep breaths, her fists clenching and unclenching, but her attempts to calm down were unsuccessful, and she glared at Chixie, her eyes wide and pupils narrowed to slits. "YOU DISOBEYED MY ORDERS!"

With that, Boldir growled and lunged forward, her claws at the ready. Before Chixie could react, she was upon her, and the two of them gripped at each other's coats, clawing and kicking, the harpoon having been thrown to the side. The two of them fought ferociously, snarling like wolves as Vikare strode over, his hands hovering over them.

Finally he saw an opportunity to grab them both by the backs of their collars and pull them apart, still hissing and spitting.

"Stop this!" he begged, looking between the two trolls. "Fighting like animals! Yes, the situation may be dire, but we have to handle this like trolls and not like beasts!"

The snarls and hisses of the two trolls faded into heavy panting, perhaps an attempt at a kick or a swipe as Vikare held them apart at arm's length.

"Marsti, take the captain below deck. She has some scratches that need patching up." Sure enough, blood oozed from Boldir's arm where Chixie's hook had grazed the skin. "I'll stay up here with Chixie. Diemen, stay at the wheel."

Vikare's calmness had an effect on everyone, who wordlessly followed his orders. Marsti put her hand on Boldir's back and led her below deck, while Vikare led Chixie to the front of the ship, guiding her to sit down on the bowsprit.

"Why is it my fault? I was just trying to defend myself, and her!" Chixie growled as she sat, digging her hook into the wood of the bowsprit to keep her firmly seated. "You should have heard that other violet. She said that I was inferior, and regarded me as Boldir's pet."

"I know things are rough for us as land dwellers," Vikare sat next to her, sighing as he gazed down at the water. "and it's so tempting to stand up for yourself and tell them 'no, this is not who I am', but it's just not how it works, unfortunately."

Chixie was silent after that, lifting her gaze to the horizon. She took a few moments to think, knowing that Vikare was right, this was just how things had always been and probably always would be, but she couldn't help but feel angry, and rightfully so.

"The sun will come up soon." Vikare told her gently after a few minutes, squinting as he saw the very top of the sun peek up over the water's edge. "I think you should come down. I'll bring you some food in the cabin. I.. don't think the captain will want to see you just now, and I know that you need some time apart."

"What are you, our auspistice?" Chixie joked, standing up and stepping back onto the forecastle deck.

"If I need to be, I'll try my best to keep things running smoothly here." Vikare grinned as he stood up too. "Come on, I know there won't be as much food as usual, but you need to get something in your stomach."

"I do. Thank you, Vikare."


	4. Of Thunder, Pitch and Lightning, Pale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the tension between Boldir and Chixie finally comes to a head, both trolls receive the wakeup call they've desperately needed for the longest time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't stop me noooooow cos I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball!

Chixie groaned as she swung out of the hammock in the crew's cabin, hearing Vikare's heavy footsteps on the wood and knowing that it was time to get up. She hadn't slept a wink that day, thanks to the explosive confrontation just a few hours prior. Her mind was still full of rage, confusion and feelings that even she couldn't identify. 

Pulling her boots and black coat on, she shivered a little and returned Vikare's gentle greeting with a noncommittal grunt as she yawned and stretched.   
Marsti was already on deck, having lifted the anchor and taken the wheel, and Diemen was in the galley making up some lunch for a few hours later - their lack of supplies meant that they had to omit breakfast from their daily routine.

Chixie, as usual, was the last to approach the stairs up to the deck, but nearly bumped into Boldir as the captain stepped out of her own cabin.  
Regarding Chixie coolly, trying not to get angry again, Boldir told her

"Stay under the deck today, Roixmr. Help out in the kitchen or plot our course. I don't think I can stand the sight of you today." Boldir obviously hadn't slept either, if the heavy bags under her eyes was anything to go by.

Chixie licked her dry lips and looked around. Vikare must be up on the deck, which gave her the perfect opportunity to elevate the tension.

"Make me, Boldir."

And just as Chixie had wanted, her back was now against the wall, Boldir's hand on her throat. No sounds could be heard except Boldir's raspy, heavy breaths and the clanging of pots and pans in the galley a few rooms over.

"My, my, Miss Lamati. Buy me dinner first, won't you?" Chixie smirked, pretending to squirm, a cobalt flush rising to her cheeks as Boldir let out a chesty growl, her ear fins fanning out threateningly.

"I am your captain, Roixmr," came the eventual reply, along with a narrowing of eyes as she locked gazes with Chixie, who only grinned.

"Oh yeah? Then why aren't I obeying you?" 

"I should have fired you from my crew long ago and thrown you overboard like a rotten fish." Boldir fluttered her ear fins in what seadwellers must regard as a display of anger, grinding her teeth a little and removing her hand from Chixie's throat, pressing her arm against it instead and leaning in slightly.

"But you would never do that, would you?" Chixie knew that Boldir felt what she was feeling right now, and she trembled a little at the obvious tension in the air.

The rocking of the boat seemed to intensify a little as the tension between them rose. Boldir leaned in close, parting her lips a little, but stopped and bore her teeth at the last second, their faces barely two inches apart.

"Come on, captain, stop teasing me." she breathed, her brows furrowing as she leaned forward with parted lips too, only for Boldir to smirk and pull back.

"Oh? And why should I listen to you?" Boldir tapped her claws against Chixie's shoulder as she leaned in and pulled away again, like waves on a beach. Chixie chased the tide that was Boldir, and the captain decided to put an end to the teasing, gripping Chixie's horn and holding her head still. 

The violetblood leaned in, and Chixie shuddered in anticipation until the ship gave a great lurch and the trolls were nearly knocked off their feet.

"What the--?!" Chixie spat as she regained her balance by gripping onto Boldir's suit.

"There must be a storm brewing." Boldir pulled away, rushing up the stairs and stopping halfway to turn to Chixie. "Come on, we need all hands on deck."

Chixie was silent. This was exactly how it had been on the one day she'd rather forget. She was frozen in place, her mouth opening as if to speak, though no words came out.

"Chixie, come on. Don't disobey my orders again." the edge to Boldir's voice showed that she was being completely serious - all flirting had stopped for this life-or-death situation.

Eventually Chixie steeled herself, taking a deep breath and following Boldir onto the deck unsteadily as the boat rocked violently.

Outside, Vikare was at the wheel, wrestling with it as if he was trying to ride a wild beast. The sky was black with thunderclouds, and waves rose nearly as high as the ship itself.

Diemen emerged a few seconds later, looking more than a little seasick as he ran over to help Marsti with the sails.

Boldir ran up onto the quarterdeck to grip the wheel and help Vikare steer the ship. It seemed the crew knew just what to do, so it would be perfectly fine for Chixie to return beneath the deck, right? No, that wasn't an option. The others would surely regard her as a coward.

Instead, Chixie stood as still as she could on the deck, swaying as the boat rocked, trying to dig her hook into the mainmast as the whipcrack of lightning and the rumble of thunder played out above them like nature's orchestra.

Chixie gasped as a wall of water reared up beside the ship. Memories came flooding back to her - of her old crew, of the ship she'd been so proud to buy brand-new. Of the inexperienced crew sailing straight into a storm despite the warnings of other sailors to not leave the port that night.

Chixie remembered all too well the splintering of wood and the rush of water all around her as her crew struggled and drowned beneath the violent waves, and the sharks that had come to feast on such an easy meal, and had taken her hand.

"Chixie!" Marsti called out as the wave drew ever closer. "Get out of the way! Don't just stand there!"

However, the teal's warning came too late, and the wave engulfed the main deck of the ship, taking Chixie with it, swallowing her into the murky depths of the ocean.

"Troll overboard!" 

Boldir's fins perked up with a gasp as she heard those words, letting go of the wheel and running to the edge of the quarterdeck, scanning the water for any signs of Chixie. Spotting a dark shape under the water, Boldir dove into the sea despite the pleading of her crew to stay on the ship.

Boldir opened her eyes as she dove into the water like a gannet hunting for fish, spotting Chixie struggling under the water, panicking and sinking deeper.

Swimming over to her crewmate with all her strength, she wrapped her arms around Chixie's midsection and swam upwards with powerful kicks of her legs. Chixie dug her hook into Boldir's suit, shivering and gasping loudly as their heads broke the surface, choking as the waves sent more saltwater into her mouth.

"Boldir, please don't let me go." Chixie begged as Boldir grabbed onto the fishing net that had been cast earlier by Diemen. Everything suddenly clicked into place - this was why Chixie had been so afraid of being thrown overboard, why she'd seemed much happier on dry land. This was why Chixie seemed so reluctant to talk about her crew.

"I promise, I'll never let you go." Boldir panted as she began to climb the net whilst holding Chixie at the same time. Diemen rushed over to pull the violet aboard, whereupon she slumped onto the deck along with Chixie, dripping with rainwater and seawater. 

Rising onto her feet and pulling Chixie with her, Boldir's sodden clothes made her feel as if she was made of stone.

"We're through the worst of it now. Keep going, crew!" Boldir ordered, pulling Chixie along towards the cabin door. 

As soon as they were inside, Chixie sobbed and shook, coughing up water and nearly stumbling down the stairs.

"Oh fuck.." she groaned, her wet hair hanging like a curtain around her face.

"It's OK, I'm here now." Boldir assured her, placing her hands onto Chixie's shoulders and looking into her eyes. "I had no idea. Your crew.. you poor thing."

"Oh, Boldir. Don't go all pale on me now." Chixie shouldered off her coat, which fell to the floor in a soaking heap.

"Chixie.." Boldir wrapped her arms around Chixie's neck and pulled her in for a tight hug.

Chixie's eyes widened as she heard this new, soft tone to her captain's voice. Her throat felt tight, and she let out a strangled sob as she clung to the violetblood, trembling from cold and fear.

"Shoosh... I'm here now. Everything's going to be alright." There was the smallest, almost undetectable amount of uncertainty in Boldir's voice, almost as if she was trying to convince herself of this fact too as she raised her hand to pap Chixie's freezing cheek.

Chixie broke down, finally allowing herself to be vulnerable, letting sweeps of mourning and denial and anger pour out against the captain's already-wet suit. 

Boldir allowed herself to care, to look after Chixie in a way that didn't just involve bossing her around all day.

It was the wake-up call they'd both needed for the longest time, and as they found solace in each other, the storm outside calmed along with the trolls inside the ship.


	5. Of Attraction and Alloy, Magnetic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chixie can't keep away from Boldir after their earlier pale encounter, and Boldir hopes that Chixie will visit her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically The Self-Indulgent Fluff Chapter TM; an apology for all the suffering I've made them go through so far, and the suffering that's to come ;3c  
> I was sort of worried about making it too racy so that's why this chapter's very tame compared to other flushed fics I've written.

The crew had pulled through the storm very well all things considered, and now each of them was taking a well-deserved rest after sweeping the water off the deck and having a meal of fish and bread. Perhaps not the most filling meal, but it was a meal they were grateful they were alive to eat.

In the crew cabin, all but one of the trolls was soundly asleep. Vikare snored loudly on his back, his long arms and legs hanging off the sides of his hammock. Diemen curled up onto his side, breathing deeply, and Marsti lay on her front, not wanting to tangle her horns in the netting of the hammock.

Chixie, however, lay awake, staring up at the ceiling. Her coat was hung up to dry on a peg, so she wore a black tank top with a cerulean design on the front. Crossing her arms, the troll felt restless as she swung the hammock to and fro with the gentle swaying of the ship.

She needed to see her captain, but worried that the stress of the night had tired her right out. She didn't want to intrude and risk souring their relationship once again, especially not after the time Boldir had taken to hold her as she cried and brush her hair soothingly.

However, the pull was too irresistible, and Chixie swung her legs out of the hammock, standing up and making her way down the narrow hallway to where Boldir's cabin door was. She had to see Boldir, speak to her ideally. It was an urge she just couldn't ignore.

Meanwhile, Boldir sat at the desk in her cabin, her pen hovering over the most recent page in her diary as she tried to think of what to write. Many of the pages had gone blank of late, since her feelings were too indescribable to put into words. It irritated her a little, since she'd kept the diary regular before the new arrival into her life, which had shook everything on her ship up for better or for worse.

Hearing footsteps outside her room, Boldir perked up, hoping for a certain someone. She rose to her feet and made her way over to the door in her button-up shirt, since her suit was also hanging up to dry.

"Chixie," Boldir murmured softly as she opened the door and saw the troll she was hoping to see, "come in."

"I couldn't stay away," Chixie confessed as she stepped into the room, and Boldir closed and locked the door. She placed her hand softly on Chixie's wrist just above her hook hand in order to get her attention.

"I was hoping you'd come." Boldir replied, her other hand seeking out Chixie's hand, weaving their fingers together gently. 

No other words needed to be shared for the moment as Chixie turned to face Boldir, looking down at the violetblood, whose face was flushed a light purple right to the tips of her fins.

After a moment, Boldir trailed her fingertips up Chixie's hook arm, resting her hand on her collarbone and taking a small breath as she raised her fingertips to rest softly on the very same throat her hand had been clamped around just a few hours ago. Chixie trilled and tilted her head back just slightly, swallowing nervously and breathing deeply.

Chixie lowered her gaze back to Boldir as the violet's fingertips continued upward, finally coming to rest on the scar on Chixie's lip, just above her gold tooth.

"What are you doing?" Chixie asked, blinking slowly as Boldir bit her own lip and shuffled her feet.

"Nobody's taken care of that scar for you. That's why I'm going to kiss it better." she murmured, standing on her toes and pressing the gentlest of kisses to the small scar, her lips barely brushing Chixie's skin.

This drew a purr from the cerulean, who placed her hook under Boldir's chin to keep her head tilted up, moving in as the seadweller moved away, pressing a soft kiss to the shorter troll's lips.

Boldir's earfins flapped a little and a small whine rose from her throat as she chased Chixie's lips, leaning in again to kiss her, letting her lips linger for a few seconds.

Chixie pulled away to look at Boldir, who gazed up at her eagerly, now cupping Chixie's cheek. Chixie giggled, finding the pleading expression adorable, and decided to indulge her by drawing her into a deeper kiss, tilting her head a little and enjoying the purr that rumbled from Boldir's throat as both trolls closed their eyes and lost themselves in the feeling.

Boldir kept her eyes lightly shut as they pulled away from each other, leaning forward again to press some light kisses against Chixie's jaw, earning a soft sigh as the cerulean tilted her head back just a little.

Boldir wrapped her arms around Chixie's waist to bring her closer as she brushed her lips along to the back of Chixie's jaw and onto her neck. This drew a brief shiver from Chixie, which encouraged Boldir to press a few chaste kisses along her throat as her hands clung to the back of Chixie's tank top.

"Stay in my room tonight." Boldir raised her head back up to gaze at Chixie. "I need someone to hold onto."

Chixie had completed her little personal challenge - drawing out the captain's true self from that tough-to-crack exterior. With a chuckle, she pressed her lips to Boldir's once again.

"Bold of you to assume that I'd be leaving." she smirked against her lips, pressing another gentle kiss there. It surprised her how quickly they'd turned from wanting to tear each other's throats out to wanting to cuddle, but she didn't question it - she'd learned not to question good fortune and that philosophy had kept her going strong.

Boldir grinned and leaned their foreheads together, laughing a little.

"I always found your attitude charming, not that I'd ever admit it to anyone else." 

"I've found you adorable from the start. The way you wrinkle your nose when you're annoyed is so adorable." Chixie settled down on the bed, pulling Boldir down to join her. The violetblood purred and shuffled, resting her head in the crook of Chixie's neck. 

For the first time in sweeps, she felt safe, secure. It was just her and Chixie in this bed together, and the rest of the world didn't exist. She felt herself drifting off to sleep on that thought, mumbling an incoherent reply to Chixie's last statement.

But Boldir knew that life on the open seas meant that a troll was never truly safe.


	6. Of Cannonballs and Concert Halls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All good things must come to an end. Boldir and the crew have a final showdown against the crew of Konyyl's ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On today's episode of I Can't Write Action Scenes To Save My Life: this.

"Enemy ship spotted at 3 o'clock! It's armed, all hands on deck!" came Marsti's cry.

"Man the cannons! We can't let them overpower us!" ordered Vikare.

"Oh god, it's that violetblood from the docks!" Diemen whimpered.

As most people know, all good things must come to an end. This included Boldir and Chixie's deep slumber in each other's arms, which had lasted long into the night since they'd had a few sleepless days.

What Boldir had wanted was to wake up to gentle, sleepy kisses from Chixie, but she knew that nobody got what they wanted all the time.

Instead, Boldir jolted up in bed, waking up Chixie, who groaned and rubbed her face.

"Captain, we need you and Chixie on the deck now! Konyyl's here, and she's armed!" Vikare pounded on the locked cabin door, having tried the handle a few times. 

"I'll be right there. Chixie, come on. We need to end this once and for all. How are you with cannons?" she asked, holding out her hand.

Chixie chuckled as she took Boldir's hand and stood up. 

"It's been ages since I've used one of those babies, but I'll take to it like a quackbeast takes to water." She took a moment to admire Boldir. "Serious talk, this might be the last tender moment we have together. Let's make it count."

Boldir knew exactly what she meant, tugging Chixie close by her tank top and closing the distance between their lips in a passionate, firm kiss which ended all too soon as Boldir pulled away and beckoned for Chixie to follow her onto the deck.

Konyyl's ship was, to say the least, well-armed. Her many crew members manned the cannons, while she kept watch from the crow's nest, waving her arm and shouting orders to fire.

So far, the ship had suffered minor damage to the bow and stern but nothing too major, enough for the Poison Dart's three cannons to be pulled onto the main deck.

Chixie immediately took charge of one of them, running her hand along it as if it were an old friend, before loading a cannonball in and lighting the fuse, firing the cannon.

"It feels good to use one of these things again!" she grinned, Vikare and Diemen joining her on the cannons either side of her as Marsti kept watch and Boldir passed cannonballs to each troll.

"Chixie, I want you to sing us a song." Diemen suddenly piped up, trying to aim his cannon. 

"Yes, but not a sea shanty this time. Something dramatic, something appropriate for battle!" Vikare agreed, having a much easier time aiming his cannon, one of his shots damaging one of Konyyl's masts.

Chixie looked around at her crew - her friends. Even in the short time she'd known them, she'd grown close to all of them. Getting to trust someone quickly was important as a seafarer, she'd found, and this crew was certainly no challenge. With a smile and a clearing of her throat, Chixie began to sing.

There were no lyrics to her song, just a beautiful, entrancing melody which echoed out over the open ocean as if she were standing alone in a concert hall.

"Shoot her down! Shoot that cerulean siren! She's trying to trick us with her insufferable singing!" Konyyl ordered from her crow's nest, and the cannonballs from the enemy came quicker the more she sang.

The foremast was hit by an enemy cannonball, and it gave a great groan as it was felled like a tree, pulling down some of the sails. 

"Pick up the pace, we've got to wear them down!" Marsti yelled, grimacing as the ship shook again - a hole had been shot into the bow just above sea level.

"Chixie, where did you learn to sing like that?" Boldir laughed breathlessly, handing her another cannonball.

"My lusus taught me. She was a manatee - you know, trolls mistook them for sirens hundreds of sweeps ago, and I guess they were sorta right." she staggered as another hole was blown into the stern of the Dart. The crew knew that their chances were slim, but they knew, by some unspoken agreement between them, that they had to fight until the end.

Boldir was about to reply, but then came the sickening sound of splintering wood from right beside her as the main mast was obliterated, falling and sending Marsti tumbling from the crow's nest into the water and trapping Vikare, Chixie and Boldir beneath it. 

"Oh god, guys!" Diemen tried hard to push the mast out of the way. Despite his strength, he couldn't get the mast to budge and flopped down breathless, groaning in defeat. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's ok, Diemen. You tried your best." Boldir assured him. "We all did. We fought until the end, and I'm so.." she felt tears pricking her eyes as she looked over her crew, then to Konyyl's ship, where the cannons were all being aimed. "I'm so proud of you all."

Chixie strained as she reached over to grasp Boldir's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. She flashed a grin to Boldir.

"It isn't over until it's over. I love you."

"I love you too, Chixie." Boldir grinned and laughed desperately as the cannons on Konyyl's ship fired at once, as if by clockwork.

The Poison Dart sunk beneath the surface of the ocean, along with its loyal crew.


	7. Of Broken Dreams and Driftwood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boldir has lost everything she's ever earned, but nothing can replace her crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you look up "Deus ex Machina" in the dictionary, this entire chapter is the definition.
> 
> Fun fact: I was going to kill off the whole crew except Boldir and Chixie, but then I thought "LET THEM BE HAPPY DAMMIT"
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The Poison Dart had been a magnificent vessel, purchased by Boldir when she was only 6 sweeps old. She'd fallen in love with it at first sight, sailed anywhere she could, becoming addicted to the sea breeze and the camaradery of her crew.

She'd grown with Vikare from being a wiggler to the fine young woman she was today, and she trusted him more than anyone. He was reliable, stalwart and jolly, never failing to amuse the captain with his positivity and good nature.

Marsti had been something of a loner all her young life, and Boldir had recruited her into the crew after she'd found the tealblood looking for work after being kicked out of legislacerator college. Upon the promise that she'd do any chore, no matter how large, she became the go-to troll for swabbing the deck when nobody else wanted to. She'd also proven her worth as an amazing sentry and all-around handytroll, earning Boldir's utmost respect.

Diemen, however, had never wanted to go into law like other tealbloods. His passions lay in cooking, and he'd ventured far and wide selling his wares. He'd wanted to expand his horizons even further, and had offered himself to the crew of the Dart as a cook, as long as he was allowed to make a little money for himself by selling his food in the port towns. His good sense of humour brought laughter to the crew, and even to Boldir at times.

Chixie, though, was something special. She was different from the rest. Boldir only knew so much about her from what she'd managed to piece together, but it spoke volumes about how she behaved. Konyyl had called her a cerulean siren, and Boldir supposed that in hindsight, she was right - she'd been pulled in by Chixie's allure, enchanted by her voice and her wit, flustered by her flirtations.

So that was why it broke Boldir's heart to open her eyes beneath the surface of the water to see her dream crumbling around her. Debris from the ship sunk slowly down into the abyss, while fragments of wood rose to the surface, not even useful as a raft anymore. 

Her crew also sunk around her, having been knocked unconscious by the last shot from Konyyl's ship. It felt like a nightmare, and Boldir tried to move her arms to swim, groaning in pain.

Since she was a seadweller she could stay under the water just fine, but time was of the essence if she wanted to save her crew. She groaned again as she forced her arms and legs to move, heading for the closest troll to her, which happened to be Diemen.

Wrapping her arms around the teal, she kicked her legs with all her might and finally held him above the surface. He woke up immediately, coughing hard and spitting out water.

"Huh? Where am I? Where's the ship? Whe--"

"Hush. You'll be alright. Just grab onto that bit of driftwood." Boldir guided Diemen to a piece of floating wood from the ship, which he grabbed onto immediately, panting with exhaustion and fear.

Boldir dived below the surface again, taking hold of Chixie's coat and dragging her to a piece of driftwood too. She, however, seemed to be unconscious, so Boldir draped her over the wooden fragment and moved on to save Vikare and Marsti. 

Once all the crew were safely clinging to bits of driftwood, Boldir bobbed on the surface of the water, laying on her back and staring up at a massive albatross who glided effortlessly on its huge wings.

"Good journey, friend." she murmured, then her eyes widened. "Wait. Albatrosses usually return to their breeding grounds this time of sweep, right?"   
Boldir looked to her crew, who shrugged or murmured uncertainly.

"No, I'm sure they do. Maybe if we followed that bird, we could find our way to dry land. There's no use dying out here when we survived all that." Boldir turned back onto her stomach, grabbing onto the piece of driftwood that Chixie was still draped over. "Swim - swim with all your might. Swim until you're exhausted, and then keep swimming. We can't let this chance of survival pass us by."

The crew looked at Boldir as if she was crazy, but deep down they all trusted her judgement as their captain, and so they swam.

They must have kept swimming for several days before even the faintest piece of land could be seen on the horizon. By this time, Chixie had woken up and was contributing to the effort. Emotional reunions would have to wait until they were all safely on land. 

The whole crew was starving, thirsty and their morale was low, but Boldir kept encouraging them to swim, reminding them that they'd die out here if they even stopped for a moment. They swam through the blazing heat of the sun; they braved mighty waves; they swam until they were all near death.

But one day, their efforts finally ended in glorious triumph. They caught the tide coming in to the sandy beach they'd spotted on the horizon days before, and whooped and laughed as they clung to the wood and surfed onto shore, rolling and tumbling on the sand and letting the waves lap at their aching legs.

"We did it!" Boldir grinned, panting hard. "Oh my gosh... we did it together."

Vikare tried to stand on trembling legs, stumbling to the top of a sand dune and looking around.

"We're not stranded, either! There's a town just a few miles walk that-a-way!" He pointed with a grin before sinking to his knees again.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'd be happy if I never saw the ocean again." Marsti propped herself up on her elbows. "Can't we become - I don't know - a travelling circus or something?"

"I second that! I could learn how to make cotton candy and oblong meat products and everything! Just.. no more voyages, thanks!" Diemen raised his thumb in agreement, then draped his arm over his forehead, rolling onto his back and resting his weary limbs.

Chixie paid no attention to them, nor did Boldir - they were too busy leaning against each other, their arms wrapped over each other's shoulders as they laughed breathlessly, happy and pleasantly surprised that they'd all survived.

"That was two weeks of my life I'm never getting back," chuckled Chixie. "but screw it - we're here, and that's just how it's meant to be."  
Boldir pressed a soft kiss to Chixie's forehead, and grinned.

"Fate brought us together. I won't let fate tear us apart."


End file.
